Marked as the Tyrant's Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 23

And then, a sharply honed sword thrust towards us.

Briton tried to push me back, even though he had no weapon to defend himself.

I hugged Briton’s body, which was about half a span taller than me, and unconsciously closed my eyes and stretched out my hand.

‘I don’t want to die!’

That thought was all that filled my mind.

At that moment, suddenly my palm started to feel as hot as if it had been burned by fire.

It was so hot that I thought the sword might have pierced my hand.

Then came an enormous wind and wave around my hand.

Startled, I opened my eyes wide and realized that my two hands were glowing brightly.

As if incandescent light bulbs were attached to my hands.

‘Ugh, what is this?!’

Bang-

And with a small explosion sound, the men surrounding us fell backward.

“Huh!”

“Argh!”

Briton turned to look at me in surprise. His face was frozen in astonishment.

I could feel a strange energy very strongly in my burning hands.

‘Just now… what was that explosion?’

I stood frozen in shock, staring at the fallen men.

Despite my sudden wind attack, the impact wasn’t strong enough, and they were staggering to their feet again.

“Huff….. Huff….. An Elementalist, is it? We’ll have to kill this wench first.”

“There was an annoying little girl next to him.”

One man dusted off his knees and glared at me with hostility.

‘They say I’m an Elementalist…?’

“Run away, my lady.”

I heard Briton’s urgent voice pushing my shoulder.

“You must escape now.”

It seemed my power had only knocked them down, not inflicted any fatal injuries.

“Hurry, Arinel.”

At Briton’s urging, I came to my senses.

Thinking calmly, Briton was right. I needed to run away immediately and inform someone about this situation.

“Please wait a moment, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

It was the moment I whispered to Briton in a trembling voice and was about to hurriedly move my feet.

Thud- Thud-

A long shadow appeared behind us.

Footsteps approaching, step by step. The shape of the shadow grew longer.

And finally, from his form buried in darkness, a pair of brightly shining yellow eyes appeared.

Those eyes, like those of a demon, made my heart thump.

‘Were there… more enemies?’

As soon as that thought occurred, my mind was tinged with despair.

Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could tell just from his presence that he was on a different level from the four men from earlier.

It was as if the atmosphere was getting heavier.

Although it was unfamiliar, because the power of the spirits was swirling around my body, I could sense his presence more acutely.

‘I can’t escape from a man like that.’

“…You’ve come.”

But I flinched at the relieved voice I heard from beside me.

A faint smile formed on Briton’s lips, which had been stiff from focusing all his attention on protecting me.

What’s going on?

I pressed close to Briton, feeling a chill.

The strange energy that had been swirling around my hands was gradually weakening.

“……”

The four men who had fallen from my wave all stood up.

And they looked at the yellow-eyed man who appeared behind us with stiffened expressions.

‘So… does this mean the man behind us now is an ally?’

I turned my gaze again to look up at the man.

The man wearing a helmet on his head seemed to be over 2 meters tall, and his shoulders and body looked as solid as a castle.

And he was holding a sword much taller than me, which looked so thick and heavy that I couldn’t tell if it was a sword or a club.

At that moment, I felt a sharp pain in my head and saw a faint vision.

“…Fanel?”

A hand much larger than my back, holding a trident-like pitchfork, cultivating an enormously wide field.

A fierce face with kind yellow eyes.

Healthy dark skin tanned by the sun and a mohawk hairstyle.

Someone from my memories began to appear clearly.

“Uncle… Fanel?”

“Very swift, Arinel. You have potential.”

Thud-

And at this moment.

Although he was wearing a helmet, I could recognize him.

That build and those… beast-like yellow eyes. It was Uncle Fanel from Galnem village!

I felt dizzy and touched my forehead.

‘This can’t be! Why is Uncle here!’

Uncle Fanel, standing in front of me, looked down at me and once again spoke in an admiring voice mixed with a metallic tone.

“The special light of the spirits wrapped around your hands will be the path for soldiers in the darkness. Surely, you have the qualities of a great general. My eyes do not deceive me!”

……

…Me?

As I pointed at myself with my little finger without making a sound, Uncle Fanel snorted like a train.

I’ve been told I had the makings of a general when I was young because I ate so well, but a great general…

“…It’s the Blue-Blooded Demon!”

“Military Minister Famel Guermont!”

“Damn it, this will be our last stand…”

And the fearful voices of the four men in front came.

Military Minister Famel Guermont?

In the notes I had written based on the original work, there was also a description of Duke Famel Guermont. The head of the military family that has commanded the country’s military power for many years.

Their presence is said to make one’s body tremble just by looking at them, and because chilling blue blood is said to flow through them, the Military Minister is also called the Blue-Blooded Demon.

But that terrifying Military Minister is… Uncle Fanel?

“To think that the worm-like remnants of the Second Prince would dare to target my successor and His Highness the Crown Prince…”

Uncle Fanel, no, Duke Famel Guermont standing behind us, snorted.

“My lady…”

Briton smiled gently and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, making me turn around.

And past us, the large figure of the Duke brushed by.

“It wouldn’t be good for your emotional development.”

I nodded unconsciously at Briton’s kind voice.

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

A moment later, there were agonizing screams from behind, along with the sound of something being split.

Thud- Thud-

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

Crash-

The sound of swords breaking.

Goosebumps and chills ran all over my body.

“…Who were those people?”

“They were followers of my father’s brother, my uncle.”

“Then…”

“They’re just the losers of a fierce war for the throne. I thought we had purged almost all of them over the past year, but I didn’t know there were still some left like this.”

Briton’s urgent voice from earlier when he told me to run away was still vivid.

We… we almost died just now.

“Are you very shocked, my lady?”

“Yes. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t. Your Highness the Crown Prince… are you alright?”

Briton must have been as shocked as I was.

He’s just a child too, only two years older than me.

When I asked Briton in return, he looked at me for a moment and then smiled kindly.

“Yes… I’m fine too. I was just worried that you might get hurt.”

I nodded.

“I’m okay. And that light that came from my hands earlier… it was my first time using it too.”

What could it have been?

As I spoke in confusion, the blue in Briton’s eyes seemed to deepen.

Just as I was about to turn my head towards the now quiet back.

Briton tightened his hand on my shoulder.

“Wait a little longer. It’s not a pleasant sight. You might have nightmares if you see it.”

The boy spoke as if he had experienced this kind of situation several times before.

‘This palace, I wonder if it wasn’t always such a safe place.’

At that moment, there was a thud, thud sound, and Duke Famel, who seemed to have finished dealing with the men, appeared.

My shoulder involuntarily flinched when I saw the blood on his silver helmet.

Famel looked at me, twitching one eye and showing a languid smile, then spoke to Briton.

“I’ve dealt with them moderately. I plan to call the soldiers and move them to the underground prison. I’m not sure how many of them are still alive though.”

“Thank you, Master.”

At Briton’s words, I flinched my hand again.

‘Uncle Fanel is Briton’s master?’

“And… I hope you haven’t told anyone yet. There might be more impure forces that have entered taking advantage of this masquerade ball.”

Briton spoke as if he wanted to quietly pull out the weeds.

Agreeing with those words, Duke Famel snorted again like an angry bull.

“If they thought they could escape my iron whip today, they were mistaken. I’m angrier than ever.”

And then his piercing gaze turned towards me. I flinched my shoulders again at the intimidation of those yellow eyes.

“To dare to try to touch the potential great general of the military department, it’s unforgivable.”

And then I heard again the word I had been trying to ignore.